New spray-on smartphone coat lets you dunk your phone underwater - and it still works

The HZO coating lets users dunk a smartphone fully underwater - and it will still work, and even take calls. More importantly, it will also still work when it comes back OUT

As technology demonstrations went, it was an eye-opener. A preview for next year's CES technology conference in Las Vegas showed off a new 'nanotech' coating for smartphones which lets you dunk it entirely underwater, and it still takes calls.

A working smartphone was dunked into a bowl of water - and was still working even below the surface.

The CEO of the company HZO, which makes the coating, made a call to the Galaxy S, and it rang underwater.

If it takes off it will be a huge relief to owners of the pricey handsets - 52 per cent of British users who water-damage their handsets by dropping them down the toilet, and up to a million phones are water-damaged every year worldwide.

The coating could spell an end to a huge number of insurance claims.

The technology works by spraying an ultra-thin coat over the exterior and ports of gadgets, preventing water damage.

The coating 'seeps' into every crevice, including ports such as the headphone port, protecting individual components.

The HzO coating is a mix of various substances that spray over electrical components and protect them from water damage - even inside the ports on electrical devices

The touchscreens still work - as do the ports the hi-tech spray is applied to.

'HzO uses a unique coating processes to shield almost anything from water
and corrosion damage,' says the company. 'Unlike other water damage solutions, with
HzO technology a device is not sealed, water is able to enter.

The hi-tech coating will be available 'pre-sprayed' on iPods and other Apple devices

'Instead, the electronic components inside the device are coated to
provide protection, leaving the device unencumbered and always guarded
against unexpected accidents.'

Part of the company, Zagg, is to incorporate the HZO coating into iPhones next year, and offer pre-treated phones for sale.

Apple's smartphones have water sensors inside them so that if the phone has been exposed to water, shop staff know instantly, and your warranty is no longer valid.